A CSSD is a Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics: a registered dietitian who has documented expert-level practice in sports nutrition, exercise science, and physical performance, and then passed the specialty examination. The Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) grants and governs the credential.
One clarification up front, because the acronym collides: this page covers the CDR nutrition credential. It is not a hospital Central Sterile Services Department, and it is not a nursing role.
Most people prepare for this exam by collecting questions and hoping volume turns into readiness. We think the more useful question is narrower: which parts of the blueprint can you not handle yet, and is that list shrinking? Everything on this page is built to answer it.
Start with a Free Readiness Check
The Free Readiness Check takes about 15 minutes and never asks for a credit card. You answer a short, blueprint-mapped set of questions and see your exam readiness: On Track, At Risk, or Not Ready. The free plan then gives you 10 readiness questions a day to keep that picture current.
Treat the result as a starting point, not a verdict. It is not a predicted CDR score, and we never present it as one.
What Sprint adds
Sprint turns the starting point into a complete map. Practice becomes unlimited, and every answer feeds a mastery heatmap across the CSSD blueprint, so the domains you have been avoiding sit right next to the ones you have drilled. Speed matters as much as correctness here: an answer you got right slowly still shows as a gap, because hesitation under exam pressure costs real points.
Elite adds Clinical Sim, which puts you in high-stakes case decisions with nothing real on the line.
Eligibility belongs to CDR
CDR decides who sits this exam. Its current eligibility page asks for current RD status, at least two years of RD status from your original examination date, and 2,000 hours of sports dietetics practice as an RD within the past five years for initial certification. Recertification requires 1,500 hours in the same window, and qualifying education and professional experiences can substitute for up to 500 hours.
Sports dietetics practice hours CDR currently asks for
Within the past five years, as an RD. Confirm the current numbers with CDR.
| Initial certification | 2,000 h |
|---|---|
| Recertification | 1,500 h |
| Up to 500 h can come from qualifying education and experience | 500 h |
MasteryEngine is independent exam prep. We are not CDR, we cannot rule on your eligibility, and we do not guarantee a pass. Confirm every requirement on cdrnet.org before you apply.
Common questions
What is a CSSD?
A registered dietitian who has earned Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics status from CDR by documenting specialty practice hours and passing the sports dietetics examination.
What does a Free Readiness Check give you?
Your exam readiness: On Track, At Risk, or Not Ready. It takes about 15 minutes and does not ask for payment details.
Is this the hospital sterile-processing CSSD?
No. On this site, CSSD means the CDR sports dietetics credential for registered dietitians. Sterile-processing departments share the acronym and nothing else.
CSSD sports dietetics practiceCSSD sports dietetics study guide
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The check gives you a starting point. When you want the complete picture, Sprint maps every domain on the blueprint, including the ones you have not touched yet.
MasteryEngine is an independent exam-preparation platform and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) or the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. CSSD, RD, and RDN are credentials/marks of CDR; all certification names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used for identification purposes only. MasteryEngine does not provide CDR continuing-education credit and does not guarantee exam eligibility or passing. For official exam information, visit cdrnet.org.
Sources: CDR board certification in sports dietetics. CSSD eligibility requirements. cdrnet.org.